Zelensky Agrees to Talks With Russia, After Trump Intervention

Ukrainian president said he would be waiting for Putin at peace talks proposed by the Russian president in Istanbul

By James Marson and Jane Lytvynenko

Updated May 11, 2025 4:33 pm ET

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said Moscow is ready for direct peace talks with Ukraine. PHOTO: GAVRIIL GRIGOROV/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky challenged Vladimir Putin to meet him in Istanbul this week, after President Trump swung behind the Russian president’s offer of talks before a cease-fire.

Zelensky said he would be waiting for Putin in Turkey on Thursday, raising the stakes amid a flurry of diplomatic exchanges and brinkmanship over the weekend where both sides sought to balance not making any significant concessions, with placating Trump, who has demanded an end to the three-year war.

Putin didn’t immediately respond to Zelensky’s offer, which goes beyond the scope of the Russian leader’s suggestion of reviving peace talks among subordinates that petered out in 2022. Putin has repeatedly expressed disdain for Zelensky and questioned his legitimacy.

Trump’s support of the Russian president’s proposal, a switch in his position, had initially appeared to upend European efforts to bring pressure to bear on Russia to halt its war and hand a diplomatic victory to Putin. Putin a day earlier had rebuffed a cease-fire ultimatum from Kyiv and its Western allies,